Apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator comprising a rotary index table carrying three sets of placer fingers spaced at 120* intervals, each set being adapted to hold a plurality of pole windings for a stator. The table is adapted to be indexed successively to bring each set of placer fingers from a first winding station to a second winding station, thence to a placing station, and thence back to the first winding station, with a dwell at each station. At each of the winding stations, there is provided a coil winding and transfer mechanism including a coil form, a flyer for winding coils on the coil form, and means for transferring coils from the coil form to the set of placer fingers at the respective winding station. Each set of placer fingers is indexable during its dwell at each winding station for reception of successive sets of coils in proper position for placement of the coils in the stator. After the winding of coils and their transfer to the set of fingers at the first winding station, the table is indexed to bring this set of fingers with the coils thereon to the second winding station. After the winding of additional coils and their transfer to the set of fingers at the second winding station, the table is indexed to bring the set of fingers with the coils thereon to the placing station, where a stator is placed on the fingers and the coils are pushed into the slots of the stator. The stator with the coils in its slots is then removed, and the table indexed to bring the set of fingers to the first winding station to start another cycle.

PATENTEU DEB 7 |97| SHEET UlUF 19 United States Patent Donald E. Hill Fort Wayne;

Stanley D. Payne, Fort Wayne, ind.; Robert G. Walker, Brighton, Mich.

[72] inventors Primary Examiner-Lowell A. Larson Arrorney Koenig, Senniger, Powers and Leavitt i, /WSZ i /76 ABSTRACT: Apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator comprising a rotary index table carrying three sets of placer fingers spaced at l20 intervals, each set being adapted to hold a plurality of pole windings for a stator. The table is adapted to be indexed successively to bring each set of placer fingers from a first winding station to a second winding station, thence to a placing station, and thence back to the first winding station, with a dwell at each station. At each of the winding stations, there is provided a coil winding and transfer mechanism including a coil form, a flyer for winding coils on the coil form, and means for transferring coils from the coil form to the set of placer fingers at the respective winding station. Each set of placer fingers is indexable during its dwell at each winding station for reception of successive sets of coils in proper position for placement ofthe coils in the stator. After the winding of coils and their transfer to the set of fingers at the first winding station, the table is indexed to bring this set of fingers with the coils thereon to the second winding station. After the winding of additional coils and their transfer lllll to the set of fingers at the second winding station, the table is indexed to bring the set of fingers with the coils thereon to the placing station, where a stator is placed on the fingers and the coils are pushed into the slots ofthe stator. The stator with the coils in its slots is then removed, and the table indexed to bring the set of fingers to the first winding station to start another cycle.

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1. Apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator comprising an indexing conveyor, a plurality of placer heads carried by the conveyor at spaced intervals thereon, each placer head being adapted to hold coils for placement in the slots of a stator, means for indexing the conveyor successively to move each placer head to each of a series of winding stations and thence to a placing station, a coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station each comprising a coil form mounted in fixed position relative to said conveyor, means for winding a wire into a coil around the coil form, and means for transferring the coil from the coil form to the placer head at the respective winding station, and means at the placing station for pushing coils from the placer head at the placing station into the slots of a stator applied to that placer head.
 2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each placer head is carried by the conveyor for indexing movement relative to the conveyor and wherein means is provided for effecting indexing movement of each placer head relative to the conveyor at each winding station.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said indexing conveyor comprises a rotary index table, said placer heads extending up from the table and being spaced at equal intervals around the table, said table being rotatable in steps corresponding to said intervals to index the placer heads from winding station to winding station and to the placing station, and the coil form of the coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station being mounted in vertical position above the table with its lower end above the upper ends of the placer heads.
 4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 wherein the coil form at each winding station is a nonrotatable collapsible multistep coil form, with its lowest step the smallest step, and the coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station comprises a flyer rotatable around the coil form, and means for vertically traversing the flyer for winding a wire into a plurality of coils of different sizes around the coil form.
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein the coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station comprises means for reversibly rotating the flyer.
 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein the coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station includes coil guide means movable down through the coil form into engagement with the placer head at the winding station, and coil stripper means for pushing the coil down off the coil form onto the placer head with the coil guided by said guide means.
 7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein each placer head comprises a circular series of fingers and is rotatable relative to the table about a vertical axis, and wherein means is provided for effecting indexing rotation of each placer head relative to the table at each winding station.
 8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein said means for effecting indexing rotation of each placer head comprises an indexing drive at each winding station, and means for disengageably coupling each placer head to the indexing drive at each winding station.
 9. Apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator comprising an index table rotary on a vertical axis; a plurality of placer heads each comprising a circular series of fingers extending up from the table spaced at equal intervals around the table, each placer head being adapted to hold coils for placement in the slots of a stator and being rotatably indexable relative to the table about the vertical axis of the circular series of fingers; means for rotatably indexing the table in stepS corresponding to said intervals successively to move each placer head to each of a series of winding stations and thence to a placing station; a coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station each comprising a coil form mounted in fixed vertical position relative to the table above the table with its lower end above the upper ends of the placer heads, means for winding a wire into a coil around the coil form and means for transferring the coil to the placer head at the respective winding station; means for effecting indexing rotation of each placer head about its said vertical axis at each winding station; and means at the placing station for pushing coils from the placer head at the placing station into the slots of a stator applied to that placer head.
 10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein the coil form at each winding station is nonrotatable and the wire winding means comprises a flyer rotatable around the coil form.
 11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein the flyer is vertically movable for level winding the wire on the coil form.
 12. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein means is provided for vertically moving the flyer to wind the wire into a single-turn-layer coil on the coil form.
 13. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein means is provided for rotating the flyer in opposite directions around the coil form.
 14. Apparatus as set forth in claim 13 wherein the coil transferring means of each coil winding and transfer mechanism comprises coil guide means movable down through the coil form into engagement with the placer head at the respective winding station and coil stripper means for pushing the coil down off the coil form onto the placer head with the coil guided by said guide means.
 15. Apparatus as set forth in claim 14 wherein the coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station comprises a drum rotatable on a vertical axis carrying the flyer, a cylinder extending vertically in the drum, the coil form extending down from the lower end of the cylinder below the lower end of the drum, and epicyclic gear means for maintaining the cylinder against rotation in the drum.
 16. Apparatus as set forth in claim 15 wherein the coil winding and transfer mechanism at each winding station comprises a wire guide movable from a winding position coaxial with the drum and above the drum to a retracted position, and means above the drum movable downward into the cylinder upon retraction of the wire guide for actuating the coil guide means and the coil stripper means.
 17. Apparatus as set forth in claim 16 having means at each winding station for holding the wire in a favorable position for starting the winding of a coil on the coil form.
 18. Apparatus as set forth in claim 17 having vertically movable wire clamping means at each winding station for clamping the reach of wire extending from the flyer to the coil form as the coil is transferred.
 19. Apparatus as set forth in claim 18 having means at each winding station for pulling a lead of the wire after winding of a number of coils and means for cutting the wire after pulling of the lead.
 20. Apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator comprising an index table rotary on a vertical axis; a plurality of placer heads each comprising a circular series of fingers extending up from the table spaced at equal intervals around the table, each placer head being adapted to hold coils for placement in the slots of a stator and being rotatably indexable relative to the table about the vertical axis of the circular series of fingers; means for rotatably indexing the table in steps corresponding to said intervals for moving each placer head to a winding station and thence to a placing station; a coil winding and transfer mechanism at the winding station comprising a coil form mounted in fixed vertical position relative to the table above the table with its lower end above the upper ends of the placer heaDs, means for winding a wire around the coil form to form a plurality of coils of different sizes with the wire continuous between successive coils, and means for transferring the coils to the placer head at the winding station; means for effecting indexing rotation of each placer head about its said vertical axis at the winding station; and means at the placing station for pushing coils from the placer head at the placing station into the slots of a stator applied to that placer head.
 21. Apparatus as set forth in claim 20 wherein the coil form is a nonrotatable collapsible multistep coil form with its lowest step the smallest step, wherein the wire winding means comprises a flyer rotatable around the coil form, the flyer being vertically movable, wherein means is provided for vertically moving the flyer to wind the wire into interconnected single-turn-layer coils on the coil form, wherein the coil transferring means of the coil winding and transfer mechanism comprises coil guide means movable down through the coil form into engagement with the placer head at the winding station and coil stripper means for pushing the coil down off the coil form onto the placer head with the coil guided by said guide means. 